The invention relates generally to fluid delivery systems requiring precise quantities of fluid to be metered cyclically, and more specifically to portable ventilators having automated monitoring and regulation.
The medical community has a need for portable ventilators for assisting patients who cannot breathe on their own. Such devices must be lightweight and compact for convenient transportation and use by wheelchair users and by medical first responders such as paramedics and combat medics. Prior art devices have generally been bulky and heavy, often because of the large compressor systems and power supplies needed to provide adequate volumes of air to a patient.
Many portable ventilators use low-pressure variable speed rotary compressors. Such compressors can effectively modulate gas delivery to patients; however, they require relatively large and sophisticated power systems to manage the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the compressor components during a patient""s breathing cycles.
Alternatives to variable speed rotary compressors include constant speed rotary compressors or diaphragm compressors. Such compressors are generally lighter weight and use simpler power systems. Constant speed compressors are sized to meet a patient""s maximum airflow requirements during inspiration. During expiration or during a reduced rate inspiration, the compressor continues to supply a constant volume of air; however any unneeded air is diverted away from the patient using a flow valve.
Although ventilators with constant speed compressors are lighter weight and require less power, they also present a significant technical challenge concerning the precise cyclical modulation of airflow. To be effective, all ventilators must be capable of delivering precisely calibrated and timed volumes of air to a patient. With variable speed compressors, this is often accomplished using calibrated compressor speed data and patient lung pressure data that are processed by a microcomputer. The microcomputer calculates the delivered air volume by integrating the flow rate. A feedback loop then enables continuous speed control of the compressor. With constant speed compressors, a microcomputer monitors patient lung pressure and the flow rate through the flow valve. However the flow rate through the flow valve is generally non-linear and is a function of both the valve position and the pressure across the valve. Most commercially available valves operate at relatively high pressures between 50 and 100 psi. Precise real-time control of the airflow to the patient can thus be very difficult, particularly when the pressure across the valve changes dramatically with minimal changes in valve position, such as when the valve is nearly closed. Minor hysteresis in the valve position control can thus create significant errors in airflow measurement.
Attempts at solving the above flow rate measurement problem with constant speed compressors include systems that maintain a constant low-pressure across the flow valve. These systems include bypass valves that vent excess airflow either to the atmosphere or back to the compressor intake. The bypass valve prevents excessive backpressure from building up across the flow valve. However these systems are more complex and expensive because they require a precisely calibrated bypass valve as well as a flow valve, and still require the measurement of pressure across the flow valve in order to accurately determine the airflow rate.
A need exists therefore for a better low-pressure valve that enables precise airflow control with a minimum number of parts.
The present invention, among other things, presents a solution to the aforementioned problems associated with prior art low-pressure valves.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-pressure valve that is free of the stated disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a low-pressure valve that enables nearly linear control of fluid flow rate through the valve during cyclical operation of the valve.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a low-pressure valve for use with a portable ventilator system that includes a constant speed compressor.
An embodiment of the present invention includes a valve housing having an upstream end and a downstream end, the upstream end having at least one fluid inlet and the downstream end having first and second fluid outlets. An orifice plate is disposed in the housing and has a first opening for allowing fluid to flow to the first fluid outlet; the orifice plate also has a second opening for allowing fluid to flow to the second fluid outlet. A wiper plate is disposed parallel to and sealingly adjacent the orifice plate. Transverse motion of the wiper plate relative to the orifice plate at least partially covers the first orifice plate opening while it simultaneously at least partially uncovers the second orifice plate opening.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following more detailed description and the appended drawings that illustrate several embodiments of the invention. In the following description, the terms fluid, gas and air are interchangeable, and all like reference numerals refer to like elements.